Client Background

The DHA Privacy and Civil Liberties Office oversee the protection of PII/ PHI within the MHS through the development of regulations and policies that comply with current and emerging Federal privacy and (HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Clinical Health Act (HITECH).

The Privacy Office supports MHS compliance with Federal privacy and HIPAA security laws and DoD regulations and guidelines.

The Privacy Office also provides dedicated assistance to the Director of DHA, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (OASD) for Health Affairs, or other senior DoD leadership, in all requested matters including but not limited to inquiries from Congress, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as other Federal agencies and DoD components, on matters related to privacy and HIPAA security.

Job Duties

Privacy Office Program Support

The Contractor shall provide comprehensive program management support to the Privacy Office in the privacy related implementation of the Privacy Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Privacy, Security and Breach Rules, the E-Government Act, and the Freedom of Information Act. In addition to traditional program management support, the contractor must have relevant subject matter expertise in the program areas, including Privacy Act compliance, HIPAA compliance, data sharing compliance, federal breach response, Freedom of Information Act processing, and the Military Health System. Compliance with these statutes requires experience with the following: creation of System of Records notices, privacy impact assessments for systems, data sharing compliance efforts, Freedom of Information Act activity, associated reporting requirements, experience with HIPAA related requirements such as Data Sharing Agreements for protected health information under HIPAA, experience with complying with DoD breach requirements and in addition, with HIPAA breach response requirements, such as analysis under HIPAA, and associated response and reporting requirements, and coordination both internally with DHA offices and externally with such offices as the DoD Privacy Civil Liberties and Transparency Division Office. In addition, as directed by the Government, the Contractor shall analyze complex DHA Privacy Office issues/problems/questions and be able to communicate clearly to multiple audiences with diverse technical, budgetary, military, business and political background/experience. Task shall include, but not be limited to the following:

• Provide assistance in responding to requests for privacy and related guidance from leadership, program offices, services, or others on an as needed basis.
• Supporting the DHA FOIA program, including the receipt, tracking, processing, responding to, and reporting on FOIA and Privacy Act requests received by the DHA FOIA Service Center within the DHA Privacy Office.
• Support training programs, development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) guidance documents, and assist in the meeting of reporting requirements, for all of the above.

Privacy Office General Program Management Support

The Contractor shall provide the following on-site support services, but is not limited to:

• Develop, route and track routine correspondence;
• Coordinate Privacy Office meetings;
• Develop and maintain a centralized office filing system;
• Monitor time sensitive beneficiary/personnel correspondence;
• Monitor written, verbal, and electronic correspondence and inquiries directed to the DHA Privacy Office. The Contractor shall draft responses and obtain Government concurrence to ensure timely closeout;
• Analyze and develop policy and procedures related to Privacy Office functions;
• Review and analyze data and documents, and provide objective assessments of options, issues, and positions for a variety of program planning, reporting, and execution activities; and
• Provide administrative support to the Chief and staff of the Privacy Office. This support shall include, calendar support, reception duties and other task as assigned as they pertain to administrative support. This support will be conducted on the Government site during Government business days. In performance of these duties, the Contractor, in accordance with their own company policies and permission from the Government COR, participate in an Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) and telecommuting. The AWS and any telecommuting will be subject to approval by the Government and will apply to this task only.
• Provide mail duties to include, receiving, sorting, stamping and shipping correspondence on behalf of the Privacy Office. Also responsible for tracking all correspondence received by the Privacy Office.

The Contractor in collaboration with Government staff shall implement an Action Tracking System which shall list all current actions, a description, action status, when the action was assigned, who it is assigned to and an estimated date of completion. The report shall also include all closed actions.

Provide other program management support including logging and tracking such as Privacy Act requests, assistance with review, redaction and preparation of responsive records, and related activities.

Provide support in developing training activities especially regarding those topics with which the contractor is responsible, such as Privacy Act, and E-Government Act topics.

Privacy Office Work Group/Meeting Support

The Contractor shall provide professional facilitation support to work groups/meetings, to include production of meeting minutes, documentation of work group/meetings results and action items, development of briefing and presentation material. The Contractor shall provide an accounting of all meetings supported under the Monthly Progress Report.

Support for DoD Requests/Issues

The Contractor shall accurately provide basic information in the use of DoD data within DoD, including contractors, and in external organizations. The Contractor shall advise internal and external organizations about approved methods and requirements for obtaining approval for their usage of DoD data and the process for the receipt of these data. The Contractor shall review all DoD data requests for appropriateness and policy compliance before staffing requests to the Government. The Contractor shall maintain a DoD Requests/Issues Log) that documents all related processes for sensitive data.

Privacy Office Process Improvement

When requested, the Contractor shall provide process improvement advice. The Contractor shall provide assistance defining the problem; measuring the current situation; analyzing and identifying causes; improving or implementing the solution; and controlling through measurement verification to develop better programs and processes. The Contractor shall use commercial best practices for process improvement in supporting this task, with a view toward advancing customer service.

Processing of FOIA and Privacy Act Requests

In accordance with DoD 5400.7-R (DoD FOIA Program), and the Privacy Act, the Contractor shall assist the Government FOIA Manager in collecting and preparing records/documents in relation to FOIA and Privacy Act requests. This assistance shall include, but not be limited to:

• Search of databases;
• Data entry, tracking, and reporting;
• Written analysis and documentation on the search criteria used to create the reports;
• Data validation and annotation of data exceptions;
• Analysis of cost of the orgnnization's service delivery and provider reimbursement;
• FOIA and Privacy Act documents processing;
• Determination of the applicability of FOIA exemptions to records;
• Technical analysis of health care financing and delivery requirements associated with responding to DHA FOlA requests;
• Preparation of correspondence and other communications associated with the FOIA program; and
• Support of communications including by telephone with requesters and others

Contractor shall use FOIAXpress software tool (provided by the Government) in the execution of the tasks detailed in this PWS section. FOIAXpress is a software tool that allows FOIA tracking from receipt to response; Built-in redaction tool set and full text search; Correspondence and fee/payment management; An integrated web portal to allow electronic request submission and automatic case creation; and the Ability to produce the Department of Justice (DOJ) annual FOIA Report in seconds

Required Experience

• Strong analytical skills;
• Knowledge of FOIAXpress;
• Redaction;
• Working knowledge of FOIA request processing and FOIA exemptions;
• Business process improvement;
• Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) development;
• System of Records Notices (SORN) development and review;
• Knowledge of Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) for systems;
• Experience with HIPAA related requirements such as Data Sharing Agreements for protected health information under HIPAA;
• Experience with complying with DoD breach requirements and in addition, with HIPAA breach response requirements

Location

The Contractor shall perform primary activity at the Contractor’s facility near Defense Health Headquarters (DHHQ), Falls Church, Virginia.

Duration

Minimum of one (1) year.

Benefits and Perks

• 10 Paid Federal Holidays
• Annual Sick and Vacation Leave
• Metrocheck/Smart Benefits
• Health Insurance
• Comprehensive PPO
• Dental Plan
• Vision Plan
• 401 (k) Plan
• SafeHarbor plan provided through Merrill Lynch & Co
• Company Matching
• 100% vested from start of contributions
• Profit Sharing
• Training & Tuition Reimbursement
• We provide tuition assistance and encourage our employees to pursue professional training

How to Apply

Please send the following information to daniel.friend@aitheras.com:

• Resume (preferably with a cover letter)
• Contact number
• Salary requirements
• Employment Preference (Full-time, Contractor, Corp to Corp)

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